• Manchester United has signed a multi-year deal with Marriott International, with multi-platform marketing including access to on-field & player experiences for 120M members of the Marriott BonVoy travel program.

• PepsiCo is acquiring the CytoSport supplements brand from Hormel, which includes the Muscle Milk line.

• MLS Los Angeles Galaxy has signed a deal naming Mescal El Silencio, a specially crafted mezcal label based in Los Angeles, as an official partner for the team and its venue, Dignity Health Sports Park. The alliance, being called the first mescal deal for a pro sports team, includes a Mezcaleria El Silencio bar on the main concourse.

• MLS FC Dallas has signed a pact naming Heineken as the official import beer for the club and Toyota Stadium. The alliance also make Heineken USA a founding partner for the National Soccer Hall of Fame, which recently opened in Toyota Stadium.

• Lisa Borders, who in October resigned from her position as president for the WNBA to become president and CEO for Time’s Up, has now resigned from that position, citing family situations.

August 17, 2017:ESPN has unveiled details for the role it would play in celebrating a historic event in college football history, its 150th anniversary, promising to present in 2019 a "year-long, multi-faceted story-telling experience to (share) the story of college football, like it's never been told before."

Beginning January 2019, ESPN said it would use its entire platform to "explore the sport from its modest beginnings shortly after the Civil War to the American cultural phenomenon it is today."

College football dates back to Nov. 6, 1869, when Rutgers University played the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in what is regarded as the first official game of college football.

On a broader scale, leaders in college football said they plan to celebrate the sport’s sesquicentennial in two years in conjunction with the NCAA and other college football groups.

The national effort is being overseen by Kevin Weiberg, veteran college athletics administrator and former Big 12 commissioner, who will be based in the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame’s headquarters, Irving, Texas.

"This is a very exciting moment for fans of college football," Weiberg said in a statement. "Across the country, college football is a deeply ingrained part of life for millions and millions of people.

"While it’s too soon to know our exact plans, we want to put something together that is big and special, something fans can be proud of. We will work closely with leaders from all divisions of college football to build a national celebration for fans to enjoy," said Weiberg.

According to the National Football Foundation, the overall attendance for NCAA football games across all divisions (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III) in 2016 drew 49,315,857 fans at home games, neutral-site games and postseason games, an increase of 257,891 total fans over the 2015 season.

On TV, Fox Sports recorded its most-watched college football season ever in 2016 with an average audience of 1,320,000 viewers on the Fox broadcast network and FS1, representing a combined viewership increase of 11% over the 2015 season.

From Week 1-13 last season, some 179 million people watched more than 100 billion minutes of college football games on ESPN’s networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN Deportes), according to the NFF.

ESPN unveiled a preview spot as part of its marketing support lead-in, which will run throughout the upcoming college season and then expand as the 150th anniversary coverage approaches.

Through the first seven and a half months of 2019, ESPN said it would "serve fans by featuring digital, mobile and social content examining and celebrating the unique history of college football before culminating in 150 consecutive days of cross-platform original storytelling" beginning Aug. 17, 2019.

"We are extraordinarily proud to celebrate a sport that has had such a great influence on numerous generations,” John Skipper, ESPN president, said in a statement. "Our year-long exploration will showcase college football’s rich history, which is indelibly rooted in the fabric of American culture, and explore the current and future state of the sport.

"Fans can expect a comprehensive storytelling approach, presented creatively across the breadth of the ESPN platform."

ESPN said additional details on its 150th anniversary plans would be unveiled.